Qatar University (QU) Six Biomedical science students presented four different research projects on May 18, 2022. These presentations were the fruitful conclusion of four years of undergraduate studies.
Two research projects focused on SARS-COV-2. The first project was for the two students, Ruaa Ismail and Hala Hazem under the supervision of Section Head of Research at Biomedical Research Center, Dr. Hadi Mohamad Yassine. In this study, the researchers assessed the effect of the N481K mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 spike RBD on neutralization activity and provided new insights on this variant that was locally circulating in Qatar.
The second project was for the two students, Salma Osman Mohamud and Hamas Fouda under the supervision of Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Dr. Gheyath Nasrallah. In this study, researchers concluded that individuals who were infected previously and vaccinated, vaccinated with the second or third doses of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 have high avidity index (particularly those vaccinated with mRNA-1273) than individuals vaccinated with a single dose of either vaccine type or naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2.
The third research project was for the student, Yasmin Elsharabassi who was supervised by the research associate professor, Dr. Huseyin Yalcin at Biomedical Research Center. This project aims to identify shear responsive genes that are differentially expressed under disturbed flows which will highlight the pathways participating in abdominal aortic aneurysm development and vascular injuries therefore the risk of aneurysm rupture.
The fourth and last project was for the student, Sara Al Heidous who worked under the supervision of the Research Associate Professor, Dr. Mohamed Elrayess at Biomedical Research Center. This project aims to investigate the effect of incubating preadipocytes and skeletal muscle cells with certain sera on insulin signaling and cytokine secretion.